


always real, always bright

by xpowderblue



Series: dreams from the multiverse [2]
Category: DCU, The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Parenting, But Wally love him, Crushes, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, M/M, My Sad Good Boys, Self Depreciating Hartley, reference to abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-21 22:23:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11366856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xpowderblue/pseuds/xpowderblue
Summary: it’s hard to say anything other than yes, every time Wally asks if he could help with a project, team up when helping Team Flash or going out for a coffee at Jitters. Because, here’s the thing. Wally has these, gorgeous, gorgeous dark brown eyes that Hartley can’t look away from and such a hopeful, genuine smile.So now, he’s here, near midnight, having coffee with Wally West. And he feels on top of the world.Hartley's in love with Wally, but he doesn't think he's good enough because no one ever told him he was. Wally, however, thinks Hartley's the best thing in Central city





	1. Chapter 1

Hartley knows that’s all he’s going to get, and it’s good enough.

  
A glance, a wisp or if he’s lucky, a smile flashing brightly under the Central city lights.

  
And then, he’s gone.

  
Always too soon. It leaves Hartley empty, aching. And he doesn’t know what he’s going to do it about it.

  
It sounds crazy when he says it out, ‘I’m too crazy-in-love with Wally West and I literally fall apart when he’s not here’ but, there really is no other way to describe what’s going on.

  
The thing is, Hartley is intelligent, and he’s a scientist who lives by the method, yet none of his supposed logical thinking skills apply when he’s thinking about Wally.

  
He knows, by experience, that he isn’t a likeable person. Exhibit A: working in star labs all these years and Cisco and Caitlin still thinks he’s a jerk. Another thing he knows is that he’s a hot mess. An uptight rich boy disowned by his parents for being gay. Then became an almost-supervillian because of a dysfunctional particle accelerator, which was built by an evil guy from the future, who he thought of as a mentor.

  
So, no, he absolutely should not date and inflict all of his glaring issues on someone who’s genuinely kind and deserves so much better than what life offered.

  
But it’s hard to say anything other than yes, every time Wally asks if he could help with a project, team up when helping Team Flash or going out for a coffee at Jitters. Because, here’s the thing. Wally has these, gorgeous, gorgeous dark brown eyes that Hartley can’t look away from and such a hopeful, genuine smile.

  
So now, he’s here, near midnight, having coffee with Wally West. And he feels on top of the world.

  
“You seem tired,” Hartley observed, his heart aching at the sight of Wally with his head down, barely able to keep his eyes open,

  
“Yeah,” he yawns, and gives Hartley a tired little smile, “school is hard, on top of the West family trying to play catch-up with family bonding time. Y’know?”

  
“No, I wouldn’t.” Hartley chuckles, “I’m not exactly on my family’s good side. Made the mistake of being myself.”

  
“Well,” Wally tilts his head to the side, “it’s like, being here with me, I guess. I know you probably don’t want to spend all your free time here, drinking coffee with a sleep deprived college student.”

  
Oh, he really does. Hartley thinks.

  
Anytime spent with Wally is automatically enjoyable. The sync so well together, for some reason. Conversations between them were always natural, and the silence always comfortable.

  
“I don’t mind,” Hartley says instead, “I like coffee,”

  
“At midnight?” Wally raises a brow, and Hartley shrugs. “Well, if you don’t mind, I’ll take advantage of your company and make you buy me coffee more often”

  
“Feel free,” Hartley grins, “you know where I am, plus, I’m always alone. Don’t have much friends anyway”

  
“You have me,” Wally says, and gives him a fond little smile, “that should be trouble enough”

  
Hartley bites his lip. Friends. He says. It’s- well, it’s inevitable, but hearing it still made his heart warm. Wally considered them friends. Which, maybe, meant that that he enjoys Hartley’s company and likes him as a person.

  
_It’s not a big deal, don’t get your hopes up, he’s just being nice._

  
But it’s kind of too late. The sentence is playing in his head over and over again, like a mesmerizing tune. Hartley decided to just let himself be happy this once.

  
They keep talking, until the last person leaves and Wally can’t keep his eyes open. It’s light, easy and Hartley thinks he’s under some kind of trance.

  
“I gotta go,” Wally says, and Hartley thinks he’s losing consciousness. “I’ll see you, um, soon?”

  
“Do you want a ride back?” Hartley offers,

  
“Yes, please,” Wally laughs, “you’re a life saver”

  
Wally falls asleep in the front, and Hartley tries his best to not let the sight distract him from driving. He feels really bad for waking him up, but Wally didn’t seem to mind. With a tired smile, Wally thanks Hartley,

  
“No worries,” Hartley says, and watches Wally leaves the car,

  
“You’re the best, forreal, anyone that don’t want you in their lives is seriously missing out”

  
It may just be sleep deprivation, Hartley thinks, but he still ends up thinking about it all night, with a disbelieving smile on his face.

 

* * *

  
Hartley’s in his apartment, it’s a Friday night and he feels like Caitlin. He’s sitting along, adjusting his hearing aids with the news on the back ground. It’s calm, peaceful but, kind of empty, he thinks. He has a pretty big place to himself, maybe he needs more furniture. Or some plants to make it seem more like a home.

  
Beside him, his phone vibrates, and Wally’s name is on the screen.

  
His heart almost stops as he picks up the phone, both confused but … happy.

  
“Hello?”

  
“Hey, it’s me,” Wally greets, “um, how are you doing?”

  
“Fine,” Hartley answers, then he’s worried- what if Wally’s in some kind of trouble, is that why he’s calling? "Is anything wrong?”

  
“No, nothing like that” Wally reassures him quickly, and pauses, “are you busy tonight?”

  
“No?” Hartley answers, kind of confused at what’s going on.

  
“My sister’s making me go to this benefit with her and Barry, from her work.” Wally explains, “and, well, I have a plus one and I didn’t want to spent the night being the third wheel, so um, I was wondering, do you wanna, maybe go with me?”

  
“Is that weird?” Wally continues when Hartley’s too stunned to answer, “am I freaking you out?”

  
“No, um I’d love to come!” Hartley answers quickly and hears Wally sigh in relief on the other line.

  
“Great!” Wally says excitedly, “Get dressed, formal, black tie whatever, you know the drill. We’ll be here in like, a hour”

  
“it’s a date.” Hartley says, and freezes. _Oh god, what did he just say?_

  
He hangs up before Wally could do anything about it.

  
It’s gonna be an awkward night, he groans. Still, he said he’d go, and of course, he wants to. So he gets dressed waits in his living room for the text.

  
“You look great!” Wally says animatedly when he sees Hartley, not bringing up the comment whatsoever, “I’m so glad you’re coming with me”

  
“Yeah, thanks,” Hartley can’t help but smile almost pathetically wide, “you look great too, and I’m always happy to help”

  
Wally does look amazing, Hartley thinks. He’s in a stylish, well fitted suit, always looking comfortable, yet attractive as ever.

  
Barry and Iris are less enthusiastic. They greet him in an awkward, but somewhat friendly way. The looks they’re giving off are a combination of ‘oh my god, why him’ and ‘this is seriously weird’. They’re probably not ill-intended, but it does make Hartley feel kind of unwelcome.

  
Wally doesn’t seem to notice, however, and chats with Hartley happily as ever, and soon enough he forgets Barry and Iris’s presence.

  
The benefit is nice, it’s a charity for better hospital equipment in central city. Hartley’s attracting a bit of attention, but consider that he grew up in this environment, he knows how to handle people. Until of course, he realizes Wally’s getting kind of popular too. While they’re not talking and having shrimp together, a wealthy young heiress is dancing with Wally. And all Hartley can do is watch him being swept way, while rejecting women who don’t know what ‘exclusively attracted to men' means.

  
“You like him, don’t you?” Iris was suddenly beside him, “you have a crush on my baby brother”

  
“Where’s Barry?” He deflected, “shouldn’t you two be gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes right now?”

  
“Don’t change the subject,” Iris smirks, and raises her hands when Hartley glares, “don’t get me wrong, I approve of this.”

  
“I don’t care.” Hartley crosses his arms, “it’s none of your business,”

  
“Don’t be sassy,” Iris chides playfully, “Wally likes you too, you know. He talks about how great you are all the time, and how, ‘you’re like, the best looking guy he knows’ “

  
“Uh,”

  
“I think you’ll be good for him,” Iris continues, “he doesn’t have a lot of people and he doesn’t open up easily. But he doesn’t seem to have that problem with you. I want to see him happy, you know, he deserves it. And you do to.”

  
“I think you’re imagining things,” Hartley says, but now he’s thinking, and hoping. Does Wally actually like him like that?

  
“he’s been through a lot,” Iris says, ignore Hartley, “he’s more broken than you’d think, so, be careful, for the both of you"

  
With that, she takes her leave, leaving Hartley stunned and a jittery feeling of- he’s not that sure but it’s good.

  
When the song ends, Wally makes his way back to him, looking out of sorts.

  
“That was crazy,” he sighs in disbelief, “I can’t believe that girl proposed to me!”

  
“Yup, that’s rich people for you,” Hartley agrees in sympathy,

  
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Wally says, “I can’t imagine having to do this alone,”

  
“Anytime.” Hartley says, and the music suddenly changes.

  
Both of the look up at the speakers, now blasting a slow, romantic tune.

  
“Wanna dance before this is over?” Wally offers his hand,

  
“Of course,” Hartley says and takes it. Together, they sway quietly on the dance floor. His arms are wrapped around Wally’s waist and Wally’s resting his head contently on Hartley’s shoulder.  
Hartley lets himself enjoy the moment, the closeness and Wally’s presence.

  
Maybe he does deserve to be happy, at least, just for tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

Hartley can’t sleep because apparently, insomnia is a thing now. He doesn’t know how he’s still alive sometimes. Maybe it’s because he’s running on pure spite at this point. But still, the restlessness makes him nauseous and he just needs to _get out._

So he puts on his glasses, a coat and leaves his nice, expensive apartment for the ever-busy streets of Central City.

The air is cool, calming and Hartley, he tries to just relax for the moment. The mental state he’s constantly in isn’t … great. But, to be fair, he’s never really learned how to have an ordinary life. There’s just something soul-sucking about it and he isn’t quite sure who to blame.

_“You are brilliant, and any anguish you have been through because of me was never my intent.”_

Right.

And maybe, he could say his parents but he doesn’t think he knows them beyond the fact that they’re repulsed by him. A childhood spent as a show horse for the upper class and constantly reminded that he’s a burden isn’t exactly a good foundation for adulthood.

But maybe they’re just at the end of their rope with him because, well, he’s _Hartley_ , the one that Cisco calls a dick in every language. So, yes, they get fed up with him every now and then- _‘you’re my son and you listen to what I have to say’, ‘I would, but you’re not much of a father are-’_ and suddenly, he’s on the marble floor with a bruise on his chin, mentally cursing himself for even saying anything.

He wonders if he’s actually important to anyone- not like, _we need your scientific brilliance_ important, but _I care about you and would feel sad if you died important._

He thinks he already knows the answer to that.

But then again, a wonderfully frustrating and impossibly beautiful phenomenon exists in the multiverse, and his name is Wally West.

Wally _likes_ him, _for who he is_. That alone is so odd for Hartley and it keeps him wondering maybe he is worth having around every now and then.

But sometimes he doesn’t know for sure, because it’s so easy to delude yourself to believe a lie for your own sanity. He wants to sit Wally down and ask him if he really cares, if they could ever be something- but that really isn’t a fair thing to demand from someone, especially someone who’s never once let Hartley down.

Thinking of Wally, Hartley suddenly feels a compulsion to go to Jitters. It’s almost always quiet near midnight, where only tired college students and people like him would come and ruin their sleep schedule.

So he takes the main road, wordlessly watching the cars go by- hoping for some kind of peace of mind in the coffee shop.

 

The place is dimly lit, lights almost off and you wouldn’t know if the place was open or not unless you’re a local. Going in, Hartley can feel the rhythmic tapping of keyboards and the stale aroma of day old coffee, still being served for a discount price. Not the best taste, but it does the job.

He wonders if fate, even though he doesn’t believe in it but he sees Wally’s silhouette and-

_He’s crying._

Without doing his normal routine of asking himself if he’s welcome over and over again, Hartley hurries to Wally’s side.

Wally doesn’t seem to be against Hartley’s presence or maybe he’s just doesn’t have it in him right now, but he’s quiet and his eyes are red and glassy, barely reacting to the wetness on his cheek.

“Do you like me?” Wally’s voice cracks, he doesn’t look up.

Well-

“Of course,” Hartley says softly, and his hand is stroking the back of Wally’s, almost unconsciously and Wally doesn’t pull away.

“Why?” Wally’s eyes meet his- and there’s so much lost confusion, like he can’t compute Hartley’s answer,

“You, you’re- ,” Hartley doesn’t even know where to start answering, his mind already flooding with all the reasons why he _loves_ Wally, “You’re smart, bright, kind and just- my favourite person to spend time with and you know I rather be alone- _Wally, why are you asking me this_?”

Wally shrugs. And gives Hartley a tired hint of a smile,

“I’m not a good person, I hurt people and I- I caused my mom so much pain, her last memory of me was me being angry and selfish- she died knowing I was a criminal”

Hartley feels his own heart sink to the floor.

_he’s more broken than you’d think, so, be careful_

“You shouldn’t stick around- you, dad, Iris, Barry- all of you deserve-“

“Wally,” Hartley’s voice comes out and it’s broken little whisper, “you- you’re the only thing that’s keeping me _alive_ right now”

He never even thought of that until now, but it’s the cold, hard truth- Hartley doesn’t have a reason to live outside revenge and without Wally- he doesn’t think he want to be here.

Wally’s looking at him with disbelieving eyes, filled with fresh tears and something unrecognizable and mesmerazing and

They’re kissing.

With shaky hands holding on to each other and Hartley feels his own vision blurring.

It’s gentle, careful meeting of lips and Hartley’s _starved_ for more- the feeling of love and being loved, it’s so achingly wonderful,

“Where,” Hartley gasps between breaths, “where have you been all my life?”

“I’m here now,” Wally whispers, cupping his cheek, “so are you,”

“Please- “Hartley says, meeting Wally’s eyes, his voice sound almost desperate but he doesn’t care “stay, stay with me for-“

“Forever,” Wally promises, “we- we’ll be ok”

“yeah, _we will_ ”

Maybe they should have gone to somewhere better, but neither of them could bring themselves to move- Hartley thinks any separation right now would kill him.

So they’re kissing in a near empty coffee shop, with a new found feeling that Hartley craves- he can have the things he want, _he can be happy._

It's not going to be today (but, it's pretty damn close) 

and maybe it won't be tomorrow or a month after but _something's changed_

And maybe, he thinks, _just maybe_ he deserves it. 


End file.
